Lukong Pius Nyuylime
24 April 2008
The exact figure for energy demand in Cameroon is unknown but estimates put is at over 800 megawatt. Production is basically in the hands of Aes-SONEL whose installed production capacity stands at 933 megawatts. Of this amount, 721 MW is hydroelectric while 212Mw is thermal. All these include the 24MW from isolated installations.
Production sources are made up of 03 hydroelectric stations: Songloulou, Edea and Lagdo and 06 thermal stations connected to the following networks: Oyomabang, Bassa, Logbaba, Bafoussam, Limbe and Djambouto. Energy is equally tapped from 31 isolated stations.
Since the beginning of 2000, the energy sector in Cameroon has suffered the consequences of some important changes that have taken place on the international economic and energy sectors notably characterized by unstable global growth and fluctuations of hydrocarbon prices which have continued till date. At the national level, the insufficiency in terms of electricity supply, notably due to the dryness of regulation dams of the power station of Songloulou in 2002, was at the beginning of many inconveniences for many industries, administrations and households. They were victims of frequent untimely power cuts leading to serious socio-economic consequences among which are: a drastic drop in industrial production, upsurge of technical unemployment of thousands of workers, destruction of many machines and domestic appliances due to high voltage.
According to sources at the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, the total power available is forty times inferior to Cameroon's hydro electric potential. The effective production of electricity is notably inferior to the capacity available (by about 50%) These observations were clearly visible with the water shortage of 2002, which made AES-SONEL to carry out serious power cuts and urgently put in place, small thermal power stations in order to face the problem. Taking into account climatic hazards, the increase of household demands in relation with the demography and the rising standard of living and even that of economic activity, the necessity of a strict energy policy was indispensable.
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